According to an article in this morning's L.A. Times, lawsuits against Internet flamers are on the increase.

The Internet has allowed tens of millions of Americans to be published writers. But it also has led to a surge in lawsuits from those who say they were hurt, defamed or threatened by what they read, according to groups that track media lawsuits.

"It was probably inevitable, but we have seen a steady growth in litigation over content on the Internet," said Sandra Baron, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center in New York.

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Some postings have even led to criminal charges being filed:

Hal Turner, a right-wing blogger from New Jersey, faces up to 10 years in prison for posting a comment that three Chicago judges "deserve to be killed" for having rejected a 2nd Amendment challenge to the city's handgun ban in 2009. Turner, who also ran his own Web-based radio show, thought it "was political trash talk," his lawyer said. But this month a jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., convicted him of threatening the lives of the judges on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Be careful what you say:

Most people have no idea of the liability they face when they publish something online," said Eric Goldman, who teaches Internet law at Santa Clara University. "A whole new generation can publish now, but they don't understand the legal dangers they could face. People are shocked to learn they can be sued for posting something that says, 'My dentist stinks.' "

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Web sites themselves are generally (but not always) exempt - but don't think you can defame and remain anonymous:

Under federal law, websites generally are not liable for comments posted by outsiders. They can, however, be forced to reveal the poster's identity if the post includes false information presented as fact.

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This latter point is the main one. It is all right to express an opinion, even a nasty one, such as "he's a jerk" or "she's a nut case." But presenting false information as fact, such as "he's an incompetent doctor," or "you're a prostitute," crosses the line and can subject the author to personal liability.

There's a false sense of safety on the Internet," said Kimberley Isbell, a lawyer for the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University. "If you think you can be anonymous, you may not exercise the same judgment" before posting a comment, she said.

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Here's the entire article. I recommend reading it all the way through:

"The first thing people need to realize, they can be held accountable for what they say online," Baron said. "Before you speak ill of anyone online, you should think hard before pressing the 'send' button."

I would venture to say that more than a couple of posts on this very board would be actionable. A word to the wise.

I never thought comments made here were anonymous. Unless a poster here is taking extraordinary measures, it would not be at all difficult to find them.

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True, but that's only half of the point of the OP. The other half speaks to the kind of trouble you (anonymous or not) can get into by posting recklessly.

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Yeah, it is something to be cognizant of, that's for sure. I think it is pretty weak to go after someone for a post on a board like this unless you can demonstrate a real harm (or a strong likelihood of one), but it can happen. I tend not to favor liability for speech alone, though.

According to an article in this morning's L.A. Times, lawsuits against Internet flamers are on the increase.

The Internet has allowed tens of millions of Americans to be published writers. But it also has led to a surge in lawsuits from those who say they were hurt, defamed or threatened by what they read, according to groups that track media lawsuits.

"It was probably inevitable, but we have seen a steady growth in litigation over content on the Internet," said Sandra Baron, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center in New York.

Click to expand...

Some postings have even led to criminal charges being filed:

Hal Turner, a right-wing blogger from New Jersey, faces up to 10 years in prison for posting a comment that three Chicago judges "deserve to be killed" for having rejected a 2nd Amendment challenge to the city's handgun ban in 2009. Turner, who also ran his own Web-based radio show, thought it "was political trash talk," his lawyer said. But this month a jury in Brooklyn, N.Y., convicted him of threatening the lives of the judges on the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Click to expand...

Be careful what you say:

Web sites themselves are generally (but not always) exempt - but don't think you can defame and remain anonymous:

Under federal law, websites generally are not liable for comments posted by outsiders. They can, however, be forced to reveal the poster's identity if the post includes false information presented as fact.

Click to expand...

This latter point is the main one. It is all right to express an opinion, even a nasty one, such as "he's a jerk" or "she's a nut case." But presenting false information as fact, such as "he's an incompetent doctor," or "you're a prostitute," crosses the line and can subject the author to personal liability.

There's a false sense of safety on the Internet," said Kimberley Isbell, a lawyer for the Citizen Media Law Project at Harvard University. "If you think you can be anonymous, you may not exercise the same judgment" before posting a comment, she said.

Click to expand...

Here's the entire article. I recommend reading it all the way through:

"The first thing people need to realize, they can be held accountable for what they say online," Baron said. "Before you speak ill of anyone online, you should think hard before pressing the 'send' button."

I would venture to say that more than a couple of posts on this very board would be actionable. A word to the wise.

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Isn't it different, though, when you are calling an anonymous poster a name?

For instance say a poster named CornBoar called a poster named Cornelius a pedohpile, it would only matter if the true identity of Cornelius was known.

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